1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to recreational vehicles, such as travel trailers, fifth-wheelers and folding camping trailers and, more particularly, to a folding camping trailer having an integrated, permanently mounted and fully flushable toilet.
2. Background and Description of Related Art
Generally, there are two major types or categories of vehicles in the recreational vehicle industry, namely motorized vehicle or towable vehicles. Motorized recreational vehicles (RVs) are self-propelled. Towable RVs, or trailers, have one or more axles and require a coupling device for engaging a mating towing hitch on a towing vehicle. The invention to be disclosed herein relates generally to towable RVs or trailers.
Towable RVs or trailers have three general forms and include travel trailers, fifth-wheelers, and folding camping trailers. Conventional travel trailers and fifth-wheelers have solid, full-height sidewalls, end walls, a fixed roof and a floor. The sidewalls, end walls, roof and floor form the internal living space of the travel trailer or fifth-wheeler. It is common in travel trailers and fifth-wheelers to have an outward extendable slide-out room or living space, generally referred to as slide-outs or slide-out areas. One such example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,570 to Gehman et al.
Folding camping trailers, by contrast, do not have full-height sidewalls. Folding camping trailers generally have a floor panel, two partial-height sidewalls, two partial-height end walls and a vertically extendable roof section. To expand the useable living space, folding camping trailers typically include a flexible, typically fabric (i.e., tented), section or enclosure extending from the roof section to the sidewalls and end walls. When the roof section is in the extended or “up” position, the fabric enclosure or, alternatively, folding rigid panels may be deployed between the roof section and sidewalls and end walls to form an enclosed living space. The fabric enclosure or folding rigid panels may be referred to as the expanded living enclosure of the folding camping trailer. Folding camping trailers may include extendable sleep areas or extendable slide-out areas in much the same manner as travel trailers. An example of a folding camping trailer with extendable sleep areas is generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,106 Reckner, Jr. In the retracted or “down” position of the roof section and expanded living enclosure, the folding camping trailer provides a lightweight, low profile vehicle that is easily towed.
A recent evolution in the RV industry combines the solid walls of a travel trailer with the lighter weight and expandability of folding camping trailers in a single unit and are referred to as “hybrids”. Hybrids have the stowed appearance of a travel trailer but when set up for occupancy they feature a slide-out area or sleep area typically with a fabric (i.e., tented) enclosure. An example of a hybrid trailer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,920 to Bailey et al. Some recent hybrid trailers known in the art even include an extendable roof section for increased headroom within the travel trailer or for ventilation purposes. However, these roof-extendable hybrid trailers are more closely related to traditional travel trailers than to folding camping trailers and do not typically include fabric (i.e., tented) enclosures or folding panels.
It is known in the industry that folding camping trailers encompass a variety of embodiments. For example, some folding camping trailers do not require tenting or folding rigid panels to form an expanded enclosed living space when the roof section is raised. Specifically, such folding camping trailers have the roof panels permanently attached to sections of the sidewalls that are generally one-half the height of a total wall section. The other half-height sidewall section is permanently attached to the trailer floor. The roof panels and the corresponding upper wall sections create an inverted four or five sided box, which overlaps a similar but smaller and not inverted four or five sided box including the floor and the corresponding attached lower wall sections. The roof section may be raised via numerous methods, including but not limited to, a vertical fashion or an arching vertical/lateral motion. In other embodiments, folding camping trailers have a multi-piece roof with two pieces overlapping horizontally in the towing mode. When the folding camping trailer is converted into the occupation mode, the two roof pieces arc upward to form an “A”-shaped peak. The vertical sides of the “A” shape are rigid panels that arc upward and latch into place, thereby forming an expanded enclosed living space. The aforementioned camping trailers are considered in the industry to be folding camping trailers because they exhibit expandability from a towing mode to an occupation mode. Additionally, such folding camping trailers share many of the numerous and unique challenges inherent in the design, engineering and construction of folding camping trailers.
One of the most problematic and challenging creature comforts to incorporate into a folding camping trailer is a toilet. Prior art toilets presently utilized in folding camping trailers include portable toilets and cassette toilets. Portable toilets are well known devices that incorporate a toilet seat, a bowl and a lid into a package that also includes a small flushwater reservoir and small waste holding tank. However, portable toilets are increasingly frowned upon by consumers who seek greater levels of creature comfort and convenience. Cassette toilets are an improvement over portable toilets in that the bowl, seat and lid are part of an assembly that is permanently installed inside the recreational vehicle interior, thereby giving the toilet a seemingly more “residential-like” appearance. However, as is the case with portable toilets, cassette toilets feature a small flushwater reservoir and a small waste holding tank that must be emptied to a sanitary waste dump station somewhere in a campground. Additionally, like a portable toilet, cassette toilets are constructed primarily of plastic and do not have the customary look and feel of a residential toilet.
Thus, it can be understood that neither portable toilets nor cassette toilets offer the increasingly sought after convenience of being able to directly connect to a sanitary sewage system at a campground or has the desired look and feel of a residential toilet. What folding camping trailer enthusiasts are increasingly seeking, and manufacturers are thereby desirous of providing, is a residential-type toilet featuring a residential-style toilet bowl that is permanently installed, provides enhanced flushwater capacity and includes the ability to connect to either an enhanced waste holding tank or a sanitary sewage system.
The low towing profile and compact size of most folding camping trailers limits the ability to incorporate a sizeable, permanently mounted waste holding tank on the folding camping trailer. It is well known that a larger tank provides greater convenience to a user by extending the time between waste holding tank “dumps”. Additionally, incompatibilities exist between portable or cassette toilets and portable waste holding tanks currently provided on folding camping trailers. Further, plumbing industry code compliance mandates that a suitably dimensioned vent structure be used in conjunction with permanently mounted waste holding tanks. Specifically, the vent structure must allow waste gases to be suitably vented to the atmosphere. Numerous obstacles have prevented the ready addition of a permanent vent structure in folding camping trailers, such as slide-outs, folded tenting and/or rigid internal structures provided in the enclosed living space of the trailer.
The foregoing limitations have restricted folding camping trailers to using the aforementioned portable toilets or cassette toilets. It is, therefore, desirable to overcome these problems and others by providing a folding camping trailer having a toilet facility that provides residential-style comfort and convenience by featuring a residential-style toilet bowl, greater flushwater and waste storage capacity, and compatibility with on-campsite/campground sanitary sewage collection systems.